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Rebel Transmissions: Iron Squadron

All right, the Transmissions have returned! We’re finally gonna talk Iron Squadron! Let’s see if I can give you something insightful and fun to read today 🙂NOTE: Contains spoilers from Rebels episodes The Siege Of Lothal, Shroud Of Darkness, and Iron Squadron

So right off the bat, things of note: a) I love how perfectly the Phantom II fits on top of the Ghost, b) Mykapo is a gorgeous planet just from what I can see from space, and c) wow Kanan totally heard those Imperial ships firing before anyone else did. Wait uh-oh Imperial ships firing?! Strangely enough those TIEs aren’t firing at the Phoenixes atm, but at a sole cargo ship. And whoever’s piloting that ship doesn’t need any help Hera and company can offer. All they need are a few crates of explosives dropped in the direction of an Imperial transport and they’re good to go! The Iron Squadron’s got this! Turns out Commander Sato is quite familiar with this detachment, as it belonged to his brother. But it seems the YT-4200’s gotten itself a new pilot since his brother’s death — Sato’s nephew, Mart Mattin. The Commander requests the Ghost crew bring him back, and that’s precisely what Hera, Ezra, and Sabine intend to do. Definitely fascinating seeing this side of Sato. He can be kind of… stiff, sometimes, so it’s cool to know he’s not all stiff and business-y, he’s also an uncle and a brother and he clearly loves his family. Awwz :3
It’s clear the instant Hera and crew walk into Iron Squadron territory they’re not sure what to make of it. They’re greeted by two youths who make up half the crew and all the mechanical problems you could shake a hydrospanner at. Chopper rather insists on helping the Squad’s resident R3 spiff things up and fix their hyperdrive, but the ‘mech don’t need anyone’s help, just like his masters. And then they meet Mart, who can’t be more than fifteen, has an impressive head of hair, and isn’t about to leave his homeworld because of a few lousy Imps. With enthusiastic Jonner and sassy Gooti at his side, there’s no way they can lose. Also I’m sure the space waffles help 🙂 This squad be livin’ the dream, fighting the Empire in a supremely pretty YT freighter while eating waffles all day! Something about them makes me think of the Lost Boys, even if one of them is a girl. Scrappy but strong. Hera doesn’t exactly think they’re strong enough to take on all the Empire though. Even though the Iron Squadron did pretty well earlier, they probably wouldn’t have done “pretty well” if the Ghost crew hadn’t taken out those TIEs. But Mart don’t wanna hear it. The Iron Squadron will never back down! Now, I’m all for bravery and determination, but… well… sometimes you need a few dozen more ships of brave and determined peeps to help you along. Also a new hyperdrive that might be good. Something tells me these stubborn young Rebs are gonna learn this the hard way. Oh yeah and completely random note NOOO WHY DID YOU THROW AWAY THAT PERFECTLY GOOD WAFFLE, MART?!?! NO WAFFLE DESERVES TO DIE LIKE THAT!! I’m sorry as you can tell I love these space waffles. I’m currently contemplating the possibility of an entire post dedicated to them.
Meanwhile, guess who Thrawn put in charge of dealing with these stubborn young Rebs? Admiral Konstantine! The Grand Admiral decided to give his subord a challenge. Konstantine doesn’t seem 100% confident about this mission, but the Kons-man’s the bossman, and he’s gonna bring the fight the best way he knows how! A part of me figured putting him in charge would end badly for the Imps, but Thrawn’s rarely wrong, so I had to wonder if maybe he knew something about Admiral K’s abilities we didn’t. But well, you know how this ends…
So another thought: while the others were trying to talk sense into the Iron Squadron, Kanan and Zeb and Rex and a few other Rebs had finally gotten everyone who wanted off Mykapo evacuated. How long did that take really? It’s a whole planet man! That could be a lot of people! Either there aren’t that many sentients on Mykapo or not a lot of people were interested in leaving. Or the Rebs just work astoundingly fast. Or maybe I’m overthinking this. OK dumb query over let’s get back to the more important deets — oh who’m I kidding? In Star Wars, all deets are important! There are no dumb queries! Ezra’s still not willing to give up on these kids, so he manages to talk Hera into letting him, Sabine, and Chopper fix the Squad’s hyperdrive, which might give them the chance to convince them to come back, too. Nothin’ a little teamwork can’t do, right? Well, yeah, but it might take a little extra more teamwork to really get Mart and crew to change their minds. Ezra completely gets them, though. No one wants to stand idly by while their home is taken from them. He understands why they want to fight, why they’re willing to do something completely crazy to keep Mykapo safe. *Recalls events from The Siege Of Lothal and sheds a tear* But he also knows something Master Yoda told him about how we go about fighting our battles, and that sometimes, to protect what you love, you’ve gotta be willing to let it go first. When he dropped that Yoda wisdom on Gooti and Jonner it made me smile because it says that he actually got something from what was, at the time, an seemingly confusing, enigmatic conversation. He’s dug into it a lot deeper since then. Actually this whole thing made me smile because we’re seeing Ezra giving sage advice to these youths who aren’t that different from who he once was. How this child’s grown, oh my gosh! But there’s no time for fixing hyperdrives or taking advice because here comes a Star Destroyer! Sabine’s all “NO that’s a Light Cruiser DUH.” I’d chalk that up to her Imperial knowledge, but really I’m sure a lot of it is due to how many Star Destroyers they’ve tangled with over the years. Yeah Ezra is not taking any sass from Mart on the matter they need to hyperspace outta here. Even Gooti and Jonner are thinking maybe there’s something to this “choosing-your-battles-wisely” thing. After a few hits, it looks like Mart’s finally willing to jet… jk he totally isn’t because he decided not to board the Phantom II with the rest of his comrades. Mart just ain’t givin’ up. Welp neither is Ezra. IT’S LIKE LOOKING IN A MIRROR OMG. Yeahh this time Mart’s clever cargo-bomb trick doesn’t work, and only then is he finally willing to jet. Too bad his engines are fried and he has no hyperdrive to speak of. Sticking to Hera’s orders, the Phantom II crew has no choice but to leave him behind for now…
Yeah floating dead in space with no power wth an Imperial mine planted on your ship is not my idea of fun. I reckon Mart could really use some help ’bout now. Konstantine seems to be doing good though. He’s totally pwning it at being the Kos-man Bossman today! He’ll not only get that pesky Iron Squadron but the very likely the Phoenixes too when they arrive. Might’ve worked if the Phoenix Squadron wasn’t way smarter than that. The Ghost crew’s coming and this time they’re bringing all their friends and firepower to the party! So fun seeing the crew-fam interacting with the newest additions. At Hera’s command Gooti’s ready at the hoist and Jonner’s in charge of the droids! Hehe I love how Chopper grumps a bit at this newbie telling him what to do. Oh wait… nevermind he always grumps when people tell him what to do, it’s not just new people! 😛 From there it’s up to Chop and Arthree to remove that mine. Oh Chopper, how I love watching you mess with other droids. Just gonna shove R3 on outta there! Why do I suspect Arthree might’ve zapped him a little accidentally-on-purpose? I’d thought originally that Arthree was a pretty obedient astromech, but clearly he’s got sass where it counts 🙂 Next stage of the plan is to casually switch the mine from the YT to the cargo-bombs. Konstantine thinks the mine’s still on the freighter where it belongs. Heheheee I’m diggin’ this deliciously clever plan. Now all they have to do is get the Ghost locked on the YT and they’re home free. If only they weren’t still being fired at. Then in comes Uncle Jun, just in time with a little backup! But before the Rebels say their goodbyes, they leave Konstantine with a little gift… a very explosive one 😀 And then OMG IS THAT A STAR DESTROYER??! NBD the Rebs were just leaving. Thrawn doesn’t seem too irked though… once again, in his all-too frightening way, he seems totally chill with this game of cat-and-mouse of his. Only time will tell, is suppose what he’s got planned for his prey. Can’t help but figure he might be looking at Sato’s dedication to his family and thinking how he might use that. We should all be worried. Especially Konstantine because boy might be out of excuses XP “It’s a Monday, sir, you know how Mondays are…!”
Regardless of what the Grand Admiral’s got up his sleeve, the Rebs still won the day. Sato and Mart share an awkward-but-sweet family hug that I would expect from a militant leader and his teenage nephew. Then Jonner charges in and gives his Iron Squadron buddies a real hug! Yeah that’s how you do it, Jon-boy! The Ghost crew looks on with a smile (with the exception of Zeb because he has no idea what he missed), after all, these two squadrons are cut from the same cloth… scrappy, sometimes stubborn, brave, fiercely determined… and practically family 🙂
Ah that was so so wonderful! So much Action and camraderie! Just a great classic episode all around! Definitely hope we get to hang out with the Iron Squadron crew again sometime soon! Oh yeah also just in case you forgot ROGUE ONE: FIFTEEN DAYS AND COUNTINGGGGGGG!!!!!!